Locked in Embrace
by Ayrton
Summary: Nate and Parker share a moment.


* * *

She was not used to being in restraints without being able to set herself free in a matter of mere seconds. She had identified them as ASP Hinged Steel Aluminium: Black. Piece of cake really, were it not that Sterling had bagged her hands before closing the steel around her wrists. And to make matters worse, her hands were solidly cuffed behind Nathan Ford's back.

Parker had woken in a cold sweat when she realised that the nightmare about her father trying suffocate her with a giant bunny was not a dream at all: her breathing was seriously in trouble. Nate's lifeless form lay slumped over her, his right shoulder resting heavily against her face. They had been dumped on the king size bed that dominated the five star hotel room. Literally locked in an intimate embrace. Hands and feet safely secured by restraints. It took her considerable effort to wriggle out from underneath his dead weight body and manoeuvre him into a position that allowed her to breathe more freely.

A low grunt told her that he too was regaining consciousness. She tried to get as much distance between them as their restraints would allow and remained stock still while he slowly returned to reality. The shock of coming round underneath Nate had been rather disturbing and something told her that he would have a similar experience.

Nathan Ford was finally waking at the sensation of a warm body moving against his. Part of him refused to leave the Parisian showgirl in his dream and in a last effort to cling on to sweet oblivion, he buried his face into the girl's shiny black hair, kissing her earlobe with a lusty, lazy groan.

"Your breath smells of alcohol."

His eyes shot open to her look of dismay. Instantly there was utter confusion about holding Parker in his arms and actual panic because his dream had just turned into his worst nightmare. The sudden rush of adrenalin brought him back to his senses and it all came back to him. They had walked straight into Sterling's trap and before they knew what was happening, Parker had been taken out by a tranquillizer dart. Nate himself had not been able to duck away in time. The slight sting of the dart immediately resulted in the loss of muscle control. He didn't even have time to warn Sophie and the others.

"You should stop drinking." Parker advised.

"You should respect the six inch rule." Nate replied hoarsely, at the same time realising that Parker didn't have any choice in the matter.

He scanned his surroundings. They were still in the hotel room where the con was supposed to go down. A look at the digital clock at their bedside told him he had been out for over an hour. So why was there no Sterling, gloating over him in triumph and why didn't he leave any guards? Nate tried to turn around.

"We're alone." Parker informed him. "Don't ask me why they didn't leave any guards, but I can tell you this: they did an expert job tying us up."

He could see that her professional pride had taken a direct hit. She was angry, which was worrying. An angry Parker was an unpredictable Parker. But then again, Parker was always unpredictable. Just his luck to get shackled to her. He cursed himself for letting Sophie talk him into taking the young thief along as a partner and letting her do the backup for a change. He should listen to his inner voice more often that advised him to do things the way he intended. The roles had always been quite clear from the beginning. _He_ was the one with the plan.

He tested his restraints, more out of frustration than out of hope he might actually accomplish something. A futile effort of course. They were shackled together like sardines in a can.

"Like sardines in a can." Parker echoed with a gloomy face. "We're stuck."

He eyed her suspiciously but quickly dismissed the thought that she could actually read his mind. His brain was still groggy. He needed a drink to help him think.

"This is kinda nice, though."Parker admitted. "It's been a long time since somebody held me like this."

The look that Nate gave her was a peculiar mix of bewilderment and concern. Her sudden mood changes never seized to amaze him. But this was Parker. Parker was weird. Once he'd been convinced she was insane, but that was before he had gotten to know her. She was different alright, seemed to lack any form of conscience, but on the job she was too much of a pro to be considered insane.

"How long's it been since somebody held you, Nate?" she wanted to know.

Her childlike curiosity always took him by surprise. Sometimes he thought of her as this lost little girl, a child that regards this wondrous world in amazement. But she was no girl and in this position that was blatantly obvious to him. He was suddenly painfully aware of her breasts against his chest and felt a hot flush course through his body at the thought of a naked Parker in his arms. He tried to pull himself back from that extremely dangerous line of thought with a sharp mental jerk.

"So what's the plan?" she asked, seeing he had difficulty answering her previous question.

Best to keep Nate occupied with the problem at hand. Parker didn't have a whole lot of experience in human relations, but as nice as this felt to her, she somehow suspected that Nathan Ford was not so pleased. She had noticed how easily it was to embarrass him when things got personal. Sophie could render him speechless with just a glance in his direction. Contrary to what everyone on the team thought, there was not a lot that Parker failed to notice. She didn't always understand what was going on, but she noticed.

"Eh...plan?"

"You always have a plan."

As if they weren't close enough already, she leaned in with a conspiring look on her face, unaware of the fact that her knee was making contact with Nate's crotch in the process. To his horror he discovered that a certain part of his body was unwilling to leave the Parisian girl where she belonged: in his dreams. He instinctively shied away with a nervous cough that was lost in the sound of a familiar voice in their earpiece.

"Nate! Parker! Are you alright?"

"Sophie! Yes we're fine."

Nate was childishly glad to hear her voice at this crucial moment. She sounded okay. And she was.

Sophie explained that they had beaten Sterling at his own game. He and his thugs had been taken out by Elliot's fists and Hardison's high tech and were now safely locked up for the next couple of hours. Sophie herself was on her way to the hotel.

"I'll be there in thirty minutes." she assured them.

Parker and Nate shared a relieved smile. Thirty minutes.

Nate's smile disappeared at the thought.

Thirty minutes.

Oh gods!

That was a long time for a healthy male who hadn't been sexually active lately, to be firmly pressed against a beautiful female body. He was acutely aware of the knee that was still pleasantly making contact with his crotch. He gave himself a mental push, determined to come out of this with his dignity intact. He avoided eye contact and tried to think about anything other than Parker.

_Dont' think of sex. Think about the job...or Sterling......or baseball.....sheep...crosswords....party poker..._

"So, is it true that you haven't had sex in two years?" she asked conversationally.

Nate couldn't speak for a moment. His back, where her hands touched him, wouldn't relax. He managed to conjure up an indignant glance in her direction, but as soon as he had his eyes on her again, his pulse tightened, lighter and faster than was necessary. His voice almost caught in his throat when he spoke.

"That's none of your business." he told her, at the same time wondering what strange conversations his team must be having behind his back. He always tried to restrict himself to business, but apparently the members of his team behaved like the staff of any given office-department. He sensed Sophie's influence in this particular observation.

"I haven't had sex in a loooong time, either." Parker disclosed without much emotion. "I know Hardison would love to. What do you think?"

"Parker, could we please change the subject?"

"You don't want to discuss Hardison?"

"I don't want to discuss your sexlife! Nor mine for that matter."

"Oh. I'm sorry. My bad!"

Suddenly the shy little girl again, she shifted her body in an effort to increase the distance between them. Immediately he felt bad about his vehement reaction. After all it wasn't her fault that they were pinned together like this. And it wasn't her fault that his body had started reacting in a way he felt was very inappropriate in regard to Parker. It was not like he was her father, but at heart Nathan Ford was a hopelessly decent and old fashioned man. He would be very embarrassed if she found out what he was struggling against. Thank God Sophie was not with him in this. She would have milked every unpropitious aspect of it. Thank God it was Parker. Inexperienced in the world of human relations. Somewhat naïv even, about the workings of basic human psychology. On that thought he managed to relax a bit.

"Is that what I think it is?"

Nathan froze, holding his breath, eyes widening when he met her inquisitive stare. When she had moved into a more comfortable position for the remainder of the time, the disturbing knee had been replaced by her belly. The thin cloth of her T-shirt was not nearly enough to disguise the painful evidence of his condition. His ominous silence confirmed her suspicions.

"What is it?" Sophie's voice was tense and very loud in their ears.

Nate briefly closed his eyes. _Could this possibly get more humiliating?_ He opened them and locked eyes with Parker. Pleading her not to tell.

"What's going on there!" Sophie urged. "Nate? Parker? Talk to me!"

Automatically Parker answered.

"Nate is......" she hesitated in an effort to tear herself away from Nate's pleading eyes. "He is having....."

Parker would be insane enough to tell her. She had to be stopped. Stopped in the only way he could. In a split second he decided what to do and moved forward to cover her mouth with his.

Her eyes grew wide in horror, but he was relentless. He knew he was risking his life at that moment, but he had to chance it. Some things were worth taking the risk for. When the expected struggle didn't come, he released her lips tentatively, fully prepared to accept the consequences of his actions. Whether it was fury, mock or contempt. He didn't know what to expect of Parker. She was always difficult to read and when he thought he'd figured her out she would go right ahead and do something he never expected in a million years.

She just looked at Nate through narrow eyes with a totally blank expression on her face.

"Would someone please tell me what's going on?!" Sophie sounded desperate now.

"Nate was just teaching me a new technique." Parker said calmly without taking her eyes of his.

Nate's sigh of relief was so loud that even Sophie would hear it. Parker had decided to side with him. But when he met her eyes to signal a silent 'thank you', he saw a mischievous streak in them.

"What technique?" 'Sophie wanted to know.

Nate detected the suspicion in her voice. Sophie was the mother of subtext. She knew when she was being conned.

"We haven't perfected it yet. " Parker continued with a devious smile. "We'll tell you about it when we've really mastered the art."

She moved closer to Nate, her lips nearly touching his now, but she waited. Her eyes were demanding, full of confidence. Demanding that he kiss her again. Nate was completely at her mercy and he knew it. This was Parker. The one without a conscience. He would have to play by her rules or risk being humiliated by both women.

When he kissed her again, he felt her tongue aggressively demanding entrance beyond lips and teeth, finding a way inside where she fought for dominance. Nathan Ford wondered sharply if this was merely an alcohol-induced hallucination. It felt very real, though. In fact he hadn't felt this alive in years.

The sensation of Parker grounding her hips slightly, but with obvious deliberation, against his, completely shattered any self restraint he might have had. He gave in to her and responded eagerly to her kiss.

When she abruptly released his lips, he was seriously in need of oxygen. Parker's lungs were way better than his. Sophie's earpiece could easily pick up the heavy gasping and the grifter put two and two together.

"Are you two doing what I think you're doing?"

"Yes." Parker replied before Nate could do anything about it. "But don't worry. We're stopping now. I think I prefer trying this with Hardison anyhow."

When she noticed Nate's flabbergasted look, she gave him an apologetic smile.

"You're clearly too old for this, Nate." she said in a soothing tone, totally oblivious of the fact that she was expertly destroying the man's confidence in regard to the opposite sex. "You need to start working out."

Sophie chuckled in his ear.

"And stay off the whiskey."Parker advised him sincerely. "Tastes yucky!"


End file.
